Meetings & Actions

UPCOMING

We will hear from Indonesian human rights defenders Adit Satriya and Indria Fernida who both worked closely with was Munir bin Thalib (Munir), perhaps the most well-known human rights defender in Indonesia. Friday, September 7 marked eight years since Munir’s assassination and there are still a number of questions surrounding his death that remain unanswered. Munir challenged state corruption and impunity and the ongoing struggle to bring those behind his murder to trial is central to the task of protecting human rights defenders in post-Suharto Indonesia.

Directions to venue (note that you will still need the map and that it is about a 15-minute walk from the station):
1. Hapjeoung Station (Lines 2 & 6) Exit #8
2. Go straight from the exit to the second SK gas station (not the one directly in front of you when you reach the street from exit 2).
3. Turn right at Namkyung Hotel (남경호텔) – which is next to the SK gas station (2)
4. Go straight until you can find Chef Bakery and a Mini Stop (3).
6. Cross the street and turn left.
7. You will pass Time Store (4) and Sera (5).
8. At the end of the street you will come to Mangwonjeong (망원정) – beautiful old pagoda.
9. AI Korea’s office is on the right side of Mangwonjeong.
10. 3rd Fl. Geumag Bldg., 454-3, Hapjeong-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, Korea 121-888

PAST

This is a small selection dating back a year or so to give you an idea of what we do as a group. Please see UPCOMING (above) for latest info on events, meetings and actions.

Professor Francis Daehoon Lee recently returned from an Asia Pacific UN working group in Thailand covering UN Security Council Resolution 1325; women, peace and security. We discussed the role of women in peacemaking and explored the myriad ways that war and conflict impact on the lives and bodies of women while excluding women from the decision-making processes that create and lead to wars. This discussion was organized in collaboration with the Women’s Global Solidarity Action Network.

We heard from Korean peace activist and educator Abigail Yu and French activist Benji Amour who have both been deeply involved in the nonviolent struggle against the construction of a naval base in Gangjeong Village, Jeju Island.(29 May 2011)

FREE SCREENING: This Prison Where I Live, Jogye Temple, Seoul.

(12 February 2011) MEETING: Tears of the Flood in Pakistan: a global approach for the rehabilitation of flood victims in Pakistan, 2 – 4pm, Location: Amnesty International Korea Office.

Although rarely in the news these days, the effects of the floods are still being felt by a large number of people. As a result of the flood, a fifth of the country was covered in water, affecting approximately 20 million people and “partially or wholly destroying more than 1.6 million homes and causing approximately $10bn of direct and indirect losses” according to Oxfam. We will hear from Mr. Pardeep Kumar and also talk about ways that we can be of help to those affected.

(16 December 2010) FILM SCREENING: Heaven on Earth. 7.30pm – 10pm in Room 902, 9th Floor, International Education Building (IEB), The Graduate School of International Studies, Ewha Womans University.

In association with the Ewha University GSIS Student Council to mark 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence as well as Human Rights Day, Amnesty G48 presented “Heaven on Earth”. The film explores the theme of domestic violence, faced by many women around the world, head on. The screening was followed by an open discussion about gender-based violence and about ways we can recognise and prevent all forms of violence and discrimination against women in our daily lives.

(2 December 2010) FILM SCREENING: Burma VJ. 7pm – 9.30pm in Room 902, 9th Floor, International Education Building (IEB), The Graduate School of International Studies, Ewha Womans University.

(11 November 2010) FILM SCREENING: My Heart is Not Broken Yet. 7pm – 9.30pm in Room 902, 9th Floor, International Education Building (IEB), The Graduate School of International Studies, Ewha Womans University.

We launched the new Amnesty G48 Film Club with a free screening of My Heart is Not Broken Yet including discussion with special guests from the House of Sharing International Outreach Team.

Lee Jieun from MINBYUN (Lawyers for a Democratic Society) conducted this special workshop where member came to learn their basic legal rights around protesting around the time of the G20 Summit. This was set up in light of the number of arrests which took place at the last G20 summit in Toronto with the aim of reducing the number of arrests and police violence against those exercising their basic rights. Here is a link to the English version of the manual that MINBYUN has prepared: http://minbyun.org/english/archives/84

(2 October 2010) MEETING: Burma: Ethnic minorities, political prisoners and elections. Three years on from the Saffron Revolution and with elections looming, we’ll looked at the complex situation inside this country where there are at about 140 ethnic groups, an estimated 2,200 political prisoners, no free dissent and where criticism of the government can lead to imprisonment and worse. We were joined by Mr. John Smith Thang, Executive Director of Chin Democracy and Human Rights Network and Mr. Nay Tun Naing, The National League for Democracy (Liberated Area) Korea

(2-3 October 2010) EVENT: Peace and Disarmament Fair. Organized by PSPD, AI Korea & other NGOs working against war and will be held at Jogyesa Temple (near Anguk Station)

(10 October 2010) ACTION: Anti-Death Penalty Campaign.

(4 September 2010) MEETING: The Democratic Republic of Congo with guest speaker Mr. Yiombi Thona. A vast country with immense economic resources, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been at the centre of a devastating humanitarian crisis. Besides giving us a talk about the history of the situation in the DRC, Mr. Thona also discussed the current reality in the DRC

(7 July 2010) SPECIAL MEETING: On the police violence and repression during the G8/G20 Summit in Toronto which led to 1,000 arrests. Skyped live to two Toronto-based activists who witnessed acts of police repression

(21 June 2010) EVENT: Don’t Kill in Our Names – Families of Murder Victims Speak Out Against the Death Penalty, Performance Hall of History and Culture Center of Korean Buddhism, Jogye Temple

In collaboration with Amnesty Korea’s student network and Amnesty Korea, we took photos and collected signatures on butterfly cards in support of survivors of Japanese military sexual slavery during the Pacific War.

(6 February 2010) MEETING: Migrant Workers in Korea: their history, their movement, and their struggle, Women’s Plaza, Seoul

Guest speaker: Lee Kyung Sook from the Joint Committee with Migrants in Korea